


P.S. I Hope You're Happy

by incorrectbatfam



Category: DCU (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:33:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23659168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incorrectbatfam/pseuds/incorrectbatfam
Summary: "I blame myselffor when I was someone else.I might not get over this......but I won't be sad for the sake of it."
Relationships: Bart Allen & Jaime Reyes, Bart Allen/Eduardo Dorado Jr., Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes, Jaime Reyes/Traci Thirteen
Comments: 4
Kudos: 61





	P.S. I Hope You're Happy

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to @bisexualoftheblade for beta reading
> 
> Based on the song P.S. I Hope You're Happy by the Chainsmokers ft. blink-182

If he had to stand there tapping his foot any longer, Bart was sure he’d drill a hole to the center of the Earth. It was uncharacteristic for speedsters to be on time, but the recently-turned eighteen-year-old didn’t want to miss a moment. Not when he hadn’t seen his best friend in over a year. 

(He called multiple times, but Jaime never picked up. Probably busy with dentistry school or whatever.)

Bart checked his watch again. He couldn’t help feel exasperated at Jaime for being late. After all, this was Jaime Reyes. Punctual, perfect, Jaime Reyes who always set his clock fifteen minutes ahead so he wouldn’t be late to anything, and yet dared to keep Bart waiting outside the Central City fairground with their tickets looking like an idiot.

(Was this how Jaime felt whenever Bart was late?)

He was about to call when Jaime landed in front of him in full Beetle armor...with his girlfriend in his arms. 

(Not that it bothered him, but this was supposed to be a guys’ day.)

The armor retracted as he gently placed Traci down. Bart saw some things never changed, like that gray sweatshirt Jaime always wore. Bart swore the Latino had ten copies of it in his closet. Jaime’s hair changed—a little shorter and shaved on the sides. It suited him.

Any annoyance Bart had faded. He beamed widely, arms outstretched.

“Blue, B.B., Bee-tell, how’ve you been, man? It’s been for-e-ver!”

Jaime laughed and accepted the speedster’s famous hugs. “I know. I missed you, _ese_. I hope it’s okay that I brought Traci along. She likes fairs.”

If the hug felt different—a sad kind of different—then Bart didn’t acknowledge it as they pulled apart and he replied, “Totally crash. We’ve got a ton to catch up on, her-man-o.”

He wanted to throw his arm around Jaime’s shoulder like the good old days, but that spot was already occupied.

(Whatever, she was his girlfriend anyway. Bart didn’t mind. Jaime wasn’t his, and he wasn’t Jaime’s. Not by a long shot.)

“Cheater! You can’t use Khaji Da!” Bart exclaimed as another one of Jaime’s darts landed a bullseye.

As the guy running the booth handed over a giant stuffed teddy bear, Jaime said, “Sorry, but the rules say you have to be at least nine years old to play and stand behind the red line. Nowhere did it say I can’t use alien scarabs.” The scarab chirped in agreement as Jaime handed the bear to Traci. “Here, this one can sleep on the couch next to the dolphin.”

(Was Bart missing something?)

“Uh, am I missing something?” Bart asked.

_“¿Qué?”_

Traci lightly nudged Jaime. He snapped his fingers in realization. “Oh, right! I forgot to mention, Traci and I got a place together in El Paso. It’s close to both our schools and families, which is a bonus because Mama keeps inviting us over for dinner on school nights. Except someone keeps buying stuffed animals so there’s no space to sleep.”

Traci playfully punched Jaime’s arm. “You’re responsible for just as many as me. Even more when you go to the arcade with Milagro.”

Something tugged at Bart’s chest. A tight smile formed on his lips. “I’m glad things worked out for you both. Man, I can’t remember the last time I had your mom’s cooking. Nothing beats that and Chicken Whizzies.”

(Actually, Bart outgrew the latter months ago, but no one needed to know.)

“I thought she said you could swing by any time?”

“You’re not the only one who’s been busy. College, missions, friends, you know the deal,” Bart said. “Last week’s battle with Klarion was stupid easy. Didn’t even break a sweat. I think I’m finally getting used to this Kid Flash gig. About time, right? Speaking of which, raceyoutothemirrormaze!”

He zipped over to a green tent and handed his cash to the attendant faster that his friends could process what he said. By the time they walked over, Bart was already lost in the sharp turns of the labyrinth, all alone save for his reflection wherever he turned. He’d lost count of how many times he walked face-first into a mirror and was pretty sure his nose wouldn’t be the same ever again. Somewhere, Jaime and Traci’s laughter echoed. Bart didn’t know why that peeved him off so much. He wasn’t a thirteen-year-old clinging to Blue Beetle’s side, trying to prevent the apocalypse. He wasn’t a fifteen-year-old hopelessly infatuated with his best friend anymore. Jaime was allowed to live his own life and if that meant choosing his actual partner over an annoying teammate, then Bart had to allow it to happen, painful as it was.

(And it wasn’t like Bart’s love life was stagnant either. Getting hung up on an old crush wasn’t fair to his partner, who he truly cared about.)

When it dawned on him that he couldn’t find the exit, Bart grabbed his phone so someone could drag him out of the maze. He scrolled through the contacts until he found the right one and sent: 

**i got lost in the mirror maze halp**

Not even thirty seconds later, his phone buzzed with a text that read: 

**Lo siento, I’m stuck at a debriefing and Batman’s watching.**

**You’re a speedster. Just phase out.**

Bart facepalmed for not thinking of that earlier. 

Three seconds later, he was back on the yellow-green grass with the sun on his skin again, only to be disappointed to see he was the last one out.

“I thought a speedster would be the first one out,” Jaime said, bemused. 

“Yeah, well, some of us don’t use our powers to cheat,” Bart said, smoothing out his shirt. “I’m hungry, and I think I hear some corn dogs calling my name.” He cupped a hand over his ear, as if listening for something.

“I’m with Bart on this one,” Traci said. “The ice cream looks really good too.”

Jaime chuckled and reached for his back pocket, but Bart stopped him.

“I got a job at Grandpa’s forensics lab last month,” the younger one said. “Allow me.”

As he dug through his wallet, Bart briefly wondered he could’ve been munching on junk food with Jaime alone right now, but the opportunity for that came to pass a long time back.

(He wasn’t gonna be sad for the sake of it.)

Bart counted out the cash, figuring it was only fair that he paid this time around. Jaime was the visitor, plus he owed him for all those years of stealing the older boy’s snacks. It was his way of apologizing for being a food leech. 

Bart handed a little over twenty dollars to Jaime. 

The latter looked down, as if money was an unfamiliar concept to him. Money from Bart might as well have been. When he looked back up, the other boy was just a speeding blur among colorful mini-tents. 

The three young adults separated, navigating to whatever they craved among the rows of stalls and parked trucks. As he waited in line for mini donuts, Jaime’s gaze drifted to the other boy, noticing small changes that he hadn’t seen before. Bart grew a lot in the past several years, but now he was at least a good two inches taller than Jaime. He built up some muscle, but still possessed the lean physique needed for a supersonic runner. He kept his hair neatly trimmed, perfect for his Kid Flash suit, but Jaime would be lying if he said he didn’t miss the unruly auburn mop that blew up like a balloon when Bart ran. 

“NEXT!” 

Jaime glanced away from his friend only a second to order some chocolate donuts and a soda (ignoring Khaji Da’s stringent protests). When he met up with the others, his girlfriend was carrying an ice cream cone in each hand for the two of them. Bart had his arms full with two different colored slushies, a bag of chips, cotton candy, three corn dogs, and a fried pickle. He seemed to have been using his phone when he got all of them, because that too hung precariously from his hands.

As soon as they found a picnic table, Bart dropped his snacks, covering three-quarters of the surface and said, “They had pizza too but I couldn’t carry everything. Be right back.”

He was off again before Jaime could offer to pay this time around. It irked the older boy, because this wasn’t how this was supposed to be. Bart was supposed to forget his wallet at home—if he even owned one—and Jaime was supposed to pick up the slack. It was their dynamic, and distance seemed to throw that off balance too. 

(Maybe Bart finally realized how badly Blue Beetle messed up and wanted nothing to do with him.)

Jaime almost admonished Khaji Da out loud when he realized the voice in his head wasn’t the scarab for once. He reached for his drink when a buzz caught his attention. Bart’s phone was not even a foot away, and it wasn’t a hundred percent Jaime’s fault if he saw what the notification read.

**Did you make it out of the maze okay amorcito?**

Resentment bubbled in the bottom of Jaime’s gut, and it pissed him off. He wasn’t angry at Bart or whoever this “Papi Chulo <333” was. What he hated was that, despite having a girlfriend and his friend moving on, Jaime couldn’t shake those stupid feelings he got when Bart first arrived in their timeline. Then there was the Reach apocalypse and forming their team and those feelings intensified until Jaime met Traci. They were teenagers, and teenage crushes were these fleeting things and it was as if Jaime’s puppy love for Bart crawled out of the depths of the Light just to taunt him. Jaime bit into his donut a little too hard. Traci paused mid-bite of her waffle cone, giving Jaime a concerned look.

It wasn’t just Bart Jaime was being unfair to. There was Jaime’s beautiful, kindhearted girlfriend who had no idea what was going through his head and it wasn’t fair to their relationship, especially having been together for the past three years. The brunette opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when Bart returned with three whole pizzas, plus more drinks. 

“Aye Dios mío,” Jaime groaned, moving some wrappers to make space on the table. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat so much in your entire life, and that’s saying something.”

“It’s not all for me. They had that spicy sausage that you liked so I got some for you too.”

(Now he was sharing food? Who was this person and what did he do to Jaime’s best friend?)

Bart settled down across from Jaime and Traci and wasted no time digging in. He only stopped when he wanted to take a photo. Jaime let him pat his pockets in panic for a minute as he watched with amusement before pointing to the smartphone next to the cotton candy. 

“Oh, thanks. Thought I lost it.”

As the speedster took several rapid-fire pictures, Jaime asked, “By the way, you got a text. I didn’t mean to look, your phone was just right there.”

“It’s crash, I’ve looked at your phone before too,” Bart answered, scrolling through filters.

“You what– nevermind. Just out of curiosity, why are you calling someone ‘pimp daddy’?”

Traci snorted into her ice cream and Bart looked mortified.

“Ed told me it meant ‘prince charming’!”

Since when did Bart call Eduardo Dorado Jr. that?. Puzzled, Jaime replied, “You didn’t think to double-check?”

“Why would I?” 

“Why wouldn’t you? You checked when I sent you that Navy Seal copypasta in Spanish.”

“Ed’s different.”

Traci joined in on the teasing. “Different how, KF?”

If Jaime wasn’t mistaken, Bart’s ears turned redder than his grandfather’s uniform. He rubbed the freckles that painted the back of his neck. “He’s sorta...my boyfriend? It’s a pretty recent development.”

Bingo, there it was.

Between his thoughts jumping around like the contents of a mixing bowl, Jaime managed to get out a, “I’m happy for you.”

Traci squealed in excitement. “You guys are so cute together. I’ve lowkey shipped it since day one.”

Bart laughed, blushing face returning to its normal pale shade. “Yeah, he’s crash. I went to his family reunion last week, wanna see?”

While Bart and Traci looked over some photos on the former’s phone, Jaime stewed in his thoughts just a little more than he should’ve. There was no reason to keep harboring a crush on his best friend. Not when the other boy was taken and seemed over the moon with Eduardo. Not when Jaime also felt close to Traci, genuinely enjoying every minute of her company.

(Maybe it was because Jaime ignored so many of the calls that Bart stopped trying. That was it. Jaime drove him away.)

“We should go on a double date, right Jaime?”

Traci’s question snapped him out of his thoughts. “Oh, yeah,” he replied. “You know, if our schedules weren’t so busy…”

“I’m a speedster and Ed can teleport. We’ll meet you wherever, whenever,” Bart said. “Just say the word, Blue.”

The offer sounded enjoyable. Jaime smiled and shook his head at the other boy’s atrocious Spanish. “I’ll keep that in mind, _hermano_.”

Jaime briefly thought about how he could’ve been the one giving himself funny contact names and calling Bart cute things in Spanish, but the time for that had come and gone eons ago.

(He wasn’t gonna be sad for the sake of it.)


End file.
